1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data de-duplication. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to software, hardware, systems, and methods for de-duplicating redundant data in memory and storage of a virtualized server environment.
2. The Relevant Technology
Virtualization is an abstraction layer that decouples the physical hardware of a computer from the operating system (“OS”) to deliver greater IT resource utilization and flexibility. Virtualization allows multiple virtual machines, with heterogeneous operating systems, to run in isolation, side-by-side on the same physical machine. Each virtual machine has its own set of virtual hardware (e.g., RAM, CPU, NIC, etc.) upon which an OS and applications are loaded. The OS sees a consistent, normalized set of hardware regardless of the actual physical hardware components.
Virtual machines are encapsulated into files, making it possible to rapidly save, copy, and provision a virtual machine. Full systems (fully configured applications, operating systems, BIOS and virtual hardware) can be moved, within seconds, from one physical server to another for zero-downtime maintenance and continuous workload consolidation.
Notwithstanding its many advantages, virtualization can result in the unnecessary short- and long-term storage of significant amounts of redundant data in memory (e.g., processor registers, cache memory, RAM, and the like) and primary storage (e.g., disk storage). For instance, to operate fifteen (or more) server applications as fifteen (or more) virtual machines in a virtual environment, fifteen (or more) separate operating systems have to be loaded into memory (e.g., a separate OS is loaded into the memory allocated to each virtual machine), even if two or more of the operating systems are identical and/or include identical data, files, executables, or the like. Similarly, fifteen separate operating systems have to be maintained in persistent/non-volatile storage (e.g., a separate OS is maintained in the storage allocated to each virtual machine). In each case, redundant instances of data occupy space in memory or storage which could be used for other data. Consequently, there currently exists a need in the art for data de-duplication solutions in virtualized server environments.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced